Bursting at the seems - from the holidays.

Winter is here. We celebrated the solstice last week... it was dark yet intuitively light, as we lit a lot of candles, spoke over flames, and met with our friends virtually for a toast. Today is all post-Christmas feelings — with the swollen and the full — my fingers feel swollen with salt and sugar — and so today is a fast — a much-needed fast. It has been night after night with the gift of rich foods and company, and shared gluttony — but in good faith, for the longing of hard work, sweat, and restriction has set in. And it is fully here now — in action — with the kitchen cleaned up, gifts being sorted, and lots of motivation for a winter full of workout sessions, yoga, YMCA, and movement.

I am coming off of a string of digestion troubles, and then I had a lower back that was so tight I could barely move without triggering a chain reaction of pain. Thanks to Josh, who did the majority of the wrapping and Christmas prep, I could focus on calculated movements and making the holiday meals. Christmas has passed, and the New Year is just about to take over. This was the first Christmas without my mom — I made sure to send love to my sister and to my brother’s kids through parcel deliveries and a few texts — but I am still giving my brother space...to spare myself from being hurt and to spare him the opportunity to behave poorly and ruin the love we all have sustained in our own homes during this holiday time.

We had some beautiful snowfall over the last few days — which has improved my dull, drum-drab winter spirits, as everything looks fantastic covered in white and glittering.

I have a bit of laundry to do, some boxes to sort, some animals to cuddle, some note cards to work through, some material to dive within, and a biography that is almost complete — today will be about the post-Christmas calm and setting up my week and next month with as much care for success as I am able to surmount. I got so much rest — my brain is just so satiated with sleep and is ready for renewal.